Ever since Rodrigo was born, my daily routine has changed so dramatically that making bread now seems almost like some sort of achievement...

The recipe I use makes two loaves:

1,2 kg strong bread flour (sometimes I'll only use white flour, other times I'll mix it up with wholemeal)

12 g dry active yeast

25 g coarse sea salt

780 ml lukewarm water

1 tablespoon olive oil (in case you use wholemeal flour)

Weigh all the ingredients into a large bowl. Knead for 10 minutes (either by hand or with the help of a KitchenAid mixer). Let it proof for approx. 2 hours. Divide the dough in two and shape two loaves. Let them proof on trays for approx. 1 hour. Bake in a pre-heated oven at 200ºC for 35 minutes.

does this taste like the bread in Portugal? I've tried to duplicate the bread that used to be brought to the farm in Ota - two loaves, left on the windowsill. I don't know what kind of flour was used, but I have not been able to duplicate it. Wish I could!

Uhm, the traditional bread in Portugal is mostly sourdough, which has a very distinctive, almost acidic taste. And it's usually baked in a outdoor log oven, which gets incredibly hot and gives the bread a fantastic crust.

I'd say this bread is pretty similar to everyday, urban Portuguese bread. It's much less "spongy" than English bread (which sometimes is too soft to slice with a bread knife). We like it here at home! :)